Earl, Joanie, Arnie, Lois, Shelley & Norm after the seder	Joanie & Lois taking a rest from cooking	Shelley using golf cart to get some more Matzoh!

Shelley is feeling well enough to start exercising and has been going to a class at the clubhouse in the mornings.  There are a bunch of women there who do the "Leslie Sansone" tapes - Walk Away the Pounds, with a 1 mile, 2 mile, 3 mile, etc. duration.  She seems to like it and certainly is joyful about being able to do upper body exercises.  Too bad we're leaving in 5 days!  But....it will be there when we come back in the fall. 

Over the week-end we started thinking about hitting the road again.  It was time to take care of informing our mail service and newspaper that we would be leaving.  We also had to set things up with Deer Creek concerning the completion of our site and the rental of the site next winter.  As the week passes, we'll be preparing the coach as well as ourselves for hitting the road again.  

On Wednesday evening, we got together with Joannie and Earl and Arnie and Lois for a Passover seder.  Joannie arranged for us to use the clubhouse in Eagle View (one of the other communities in Deer Creek).  It was a real potluck seder with everyone contributing.  As usual, after a few minutes of going through the Haggadah a cry rang out from around the table "We want dinner", so we cut the service short and broke out the food.  Everything was delicious, and we all enjoyed the seder, even though we were not with family.

On Friday morning we took off the wheel covers, washed them out and dried them, and stuffed them into a box.  For dinner, we went to the restaurant at the clubhouse with 14 other people. On Saturday we took a dip in the pool, and when we got back, someone had mysteriously dropped off some branches from their orange tree....Shelley had said all winter that she really wanted one!  So....there it was - thanks Joanie!!  At 4:30 on Saturday, we got together with a bunch of our neighbors for a farewell appetizers and dessert party!  Who needs the main dish?  We had a lot of fun just chatting about our winter exploits at Deer Creek.  Afterward,  Norm went with Joannie and Earl and some others to Old Town, where they display old cars on Saturday nights.  Joannie and Earl own a 1950 Willys Overland Jeepster that has been restored, and they took the car over.  After remaining in a parking area where people wandered by and admired the cars, there was a parade of the old cars through the Old Town area.  Earl and Kenny Ring were in the front seat, and Joannie, Ann Ring and Norm sat on the top of the back seat, just like politicians or beauty pageant entrants.  It was really neat fun as we waved to the throngs of people lined up along the sidewalks.  There were probably 300 cars there.  Apparently, Thursdays are motorcycle days, Fridays belong to the muscle cars, and Saturdays for the antique cars.

On Sunday we did some more preparation for our trip home.  We took off and washed and dried the windshield cover and did the same with the rug that has been at the foot of our steps for the 10 weeks that we've been here.  We also went down to the Regal Pointe area to have our last look at the progress that's been made there.  Saturday night, 3 or 4 coaches (and their owners) spent the night down there, and progress seems to be accelerating.  While we were there, we stopped by at Kenny & Ann Ring's pad to say goodbye and our resident barber (Kenny) was busying plying his trade.  We were both up early on Monday morning (4/17) as we were excited about hitting the road again.  We were ready to leave our winter site (site 258) by about 9 o'clock.  We stopped by our purchased site (2253 St. George Drive) with our coach to take some pictures of it on our pad and to make sure the slope was correct.  Finally our coach is on our own site, even if it just was for a few minutes!  We backed the rig in on one side of the pad and went in forward on the other side to make sure that we wouldn't have to extend our leveling jacks too much.  While we were doing this, many of the friends we had made during the last 10 weeks came down to wish us well.  George and Judy Akins, Ann and Kenny Ring, Joannie Bell and Earl, and Tom and Kathy Bataglia wee among those who were there.  Regal Pointe is finally beginning to take shape.  About 6 families spent Sunday night there and a fair number of sites have sod and landscaping.  We're sorry that we won't see our site completed, but hopefully someone who is around will send us pictures when things are finished.  

After a short trip of about 90 minutes we arrived at Monaco's motorhome repair facility.  There we met Ed and Vicky Mount, a couple that was parked across the street from us in Deer Creek, who are also waiting for their sight at Regal Pointe to be completed.  We also met Andrea and Steve Sponenberg, CHAI members who are also having some work done on their coach. [Wildwood, FL - Monaco repair facility - 28.50 N / 42.02 S].

The rest of the week was typical of other days that we have had at Monaco repair facilities.  We got up at 6:40 AM, straightened out ourselves and the coach and then by 7:10 a.m. our technician Willie came and picked up the coach.  We got the motorhome back at about 4 PM.  During the day, we could either hang out in the lounge or try to keep busy.  Shelley attended some crafts classes and Norm went to a seminar on keeping the outside of the motorhome looking new.  By Friday afternoon it seemed pretty clear that we were finished.  However, two projects will need to be completed next fall, and our power hose reel still needs some fine tuning.  Oh well, that's just so typical for service center work.  What seems to be a quick and easy job turns into a long drawn out affair.....  Friday night, we were entertained by CJ Wyatt, a fellow motorhomer.  She is a country singer who has opened for stars such as Loretta Lynn.  Her stage was a concrete slab in front of the campground laundry room, and her attendance was 20-25 people.  The concert began at 7 PM and was called off about 8:40 due to some overly aggressive mosquitoes.  She was really good, and we all had a great time.  Tomorrow we leave for Charleston SC and some sightseeing.

On Saturday morning we were both up early ready to get going.  We left reasonably early, and after a stop for diesel fuel ($2.85/gal) in Georgia (Florida gas is much higher priced), we rolled up I-95.  We crossed into SC and got off the highway at Exit 8 (Hardeeville) where we found a Super Walmart, where we spent the night.  [Hardeeville, SC - Walmart - 32.19 N / 80.59 W]

Since we didn't have far to go on Sunday, we weren't in a big rush.  We finished off our matzoh as Shelley made a delicious matzoh brei for breakfast.  We left about 9:45 and we arrived in our campground in Charleston around 11:30.  They were having a big canoe and kayak festival week-end on the lake in the campground - it looked like lots of fun.  Luckily, a lot of people had already left, so we had no trouble finding a campsite.  After getting settled and having lunch, we drove down to Folly Beach on a nearby barrier island.  It looked just like the Jersey shore, as people were swimming, surfing, playing volley ball, sunning, and, of course, smooching.  We saw a lot of people with tons of tattoos!!  We walked out the 1000 foot Folly Pier where dozens of people were fishing.  In fact, we saw two different people catching small sharks (12-18 inches long) which had to be thrown back.  We then took exploratory drive to downtown Charleston.  We went to the Maritime Center where the harbor tours leave.  We also took a look at a 125 foot schooner called Westward.  She was built in Germany in the early 1960's and serves as a floating high school.  22 students are spending 4 months on board (with teachers/crew numbering about 9) as they work their way from Puerto Rico to Boston.  I guess they were going to be in Charleston for a while, as lots of parents had come to visit their kids.  We also stopped at the Fort Sumter museum where we picked up tour schedules for tomorrow.  We could barely make out the fort across the harbor, as it is relatively low and sits alone on a small flat island.  We also took a ride through the historic district of Charleston.  It certainly is charming and has a sense of history.  Somebody mentioned that you are not allowed to alter (or destroy) anything more then 75 years old without the approval of historical societies and the appropriate authorities.   [Charleston, SC - James Island CG - 32.44 N / 79.59 W]

We both were awake early on Monday morning and we left the coach a little after 8:30.  Since we were going to the downtown area of a large city early on a workday, we were concerned about hitting traffic.  However, we were at the Fort Sumter ferry by a few minutes after 9, having driven through the heart of the city and parked in a nearby parking garage.  We boarded the ferry at 9:15 and left the dock promptly at 9:30.  The day was really warm (forecast high of 92 degrees), so shorts and T-shirts worked fine.  The boat ride was just under a half hour - much to Norm's disappointment!  As we left the harbor, we passed downtown Charleston on our starboard side (right side for you land lubbers!).  We could also see the USS Yorktown, a WWII aircraft carrier that last saw service in retrieving the first space capsule that orbited around the moon.  Fort Sumter was where the first shots of the Civil War were fired; it is situated on a very small man made island.  There are 5 small flags that fly over Fort Sumter - they are (from the left) the 33 star American Flag, which flew at Ft Sumter prior to the Civil War.  The Confederate Flag which flew from 1861 - 1863, the South Carolina State Flag, the Confederate Flag which flew from 1863 to the end of the Civil War, and the 35 star American Flag which was raised at Fort Sumter at the conclusion of the Civil War.  The more widely known Confederate Flag that we all picture, the Stars and Bars, was really a military flag and not the Flag of the Confederacy.  Secondly, the 2 states that joined the Union during the Civil War were West Virginia and Nevada - thus creating the need for the 35 star American Flag.  During the 19th century, the island was about 1 mile offshore.  Since that time a marshland was formed from soil dredged from the main Charleston shipping channel during the 20th century and now only a small brook remains.  We both learned many interesting facts about the Civil War and Fort Sumter from the National Park Rangers stationed at the fort and also from a volunteer aboard the ferry.  There were lots of children there on a school trip and Shelley wondered how the Civil War is taught in the South....  One of the Rangers gave a talk and spoke of the Civil War as "The Northern Aggression" - laughingly said that was how his Grandmother referred to it.  It was very hot there and we were glad to get back on board.

We walked around the town for a little bit before deciding where to have lunch.  We ate at a restaurant called "Slightly North of Broad" - SNOB for short!!  It was filled with attorneys dressed in suit and tie - we hadn't seen so many suits in months.  The formality of the Old South showed itself as there was definitely an "Old Boys Network" as all the attorneys greeted one another with a firm handshake and a great big smile.  If a woman was introduced, the men immediately shot to their feet and pulled out a chair.  After a delicious lunch (with linen napkins!!) we decided on a horse (actually it was 2 mules) and buggy tour in the historic southern end of the island.  Although the tour guides were just so so, the old homes and beautiful gardens really showed us why Charleston is known to be such a charming city. The architecture is very interesting - a mixture of the 1700s, 1800s and the 1900s.  The neighborhoods seem to flow from one to another.  A lot of the homes are only 1 room wide but go quite deep.  These homes (1700s) are built from East to West to catch the breezes in the summer time.  Because the temperature is so moderate, the gardens are beautiful - and large! 

We got up on Tuesday ready for a walking tour of the historic district of Charleston.  After calling and making reservations, we got into the car, and the car started making strange noises.  When the noises didn't go away, we decided that we better have things checked out.  So we cancelled the walking tour, and Norm dropped Shelley off at the motorhome before going to the local Honda dealer.  It turns out that we needed work on both the front and back brakes.  As long as the car was in, we decided to also have a tune-up.  The shuttle driver brought Norm back to the motorhome, and we had a really lazy day.  The shuttle picked us up late in the afternoon and took us back to the dealer, where we found out that we were now about $750 poorer..  But the car ran really smoothly, and that was a good thing.  We next drove over to Bon Secours St. Francis Xavier Hospital.  Not because we were sick or injured or to see someone there.  This is the hospital where our daughter Stacy was born.  Its really a beautiful hospital with spectacular gardens and landscaping.  We took bunch of pictures which we e-mailed to Stacy.  We then went out for dinner.  Our friends from Deer Creek, Tom and Kathy, had recommended the Bowen Island Restaurant, so we went driving around looking for it.  We went down a narrow road with beautiful homes on each side; at the end of the road were some shacks near the water and some fishermen.  When we finally found the restaurant, which looked pretty broken down, Shelley looked in and said "I'm not eating here."  So we retraced our drive and finally settled on the Charleston Crab House for dinner.  It is right on the Intercoastal Waterway, and we watched dolphins frolicking in the water as we ate dinner.  Norm had an unusual dish, shrimp with grits.  It was shrimp, andouille sausage, scallions, and brown gravy all served over grits.  We had seen this dish at other places, and it was very good.

On Wednesday, we left the deep South, and aimed to go as far as to the Virginia/North Carolina border.  On the way, we passed 60, yes we counted, signs for "South of the Border".  We planned to stop there for diesel fuel and/or lunch, but the place was really tacky and almost empty, so we continued our trip.  We drove as far as Roanoke Rapids, where we planned to spend the night at Wal Mart where we joined a number of other RVs, and settled down for the evening.  When we went out of the motorhome we knew we had made it out of the tropical weather of Florida and the Carolinas.  The temperature at 6 PM was about 62 degrees, and for the first time in a long while, we turned on the heat and put on sweatshirts.  Then we went across the road to Logan's Roadhouse for dinner.  It was one of these places where it was permissible to throw peanut shells on the floor.  During dinner, they announced that a customer had a birthday today.  Instead of the usual rendition of Happy Birthday by the staff, the celebrant was given a hearty "Hee Haw" by the employees. We drove the rest of the way to Leesburg on Thursday and arrived there early Thursday afternoon.  [Leesburg VA - Street in front of Jan/Rob - 39.05 N / 77.33 W]

On Friday, Norm walked Lilly to school.  After school, he took Lilly to her Brownie meeting where the troop cleaned up about a mile of a bicycle path.  Although the path was amazingly clear of rubbish, the troop did manage to collect about 20 pounds of trash. It was a really neat thing for the troop to do.  On Friday evening Lilly and Zack slept over in the motorhome.  As you might expect, they were pretty excited and didn't go to sleep until well after their normal bedtime.  On Saturday morning, Zack played soccer and scored 4 goals before getting tired.  So he went to play goalie and stopped a few shots of the other team.  During the afternoon, it was Zack's birthday party.  It was at "My Gym", the same place where he had broken his arm last fall, an injury that had forced the family to delay their trip to Disney.  Zack didn't appear nervous worrying about hurting himself again, and he and all of his friends just had a ball.  And on Sunday, we went to the synagogue for breakfast before returning home to await the visit of my sister, Barbara, brother-in-law Albert and niece Claire.  Monday morning, amidst hugs and kisses, we prepared the motorhome for the next leg of our trip north.

On Monday morning, May 1 we drove north to central NJ to visit Shelley's sister Cathy, and her family.  We parked in the street ( a large cul-de-sac).  Shelley's sister, Cindy, and her mom came down to visit.  We drove to a nearby 15 acre farm where Shelley's folks, as well as her sister Cathy and her family will be moving during the next few months. It was really neat, with a barn and arena for the horses, but it just seems like so much work to maintain.  On Tuesday, our nephew Adam starred in a school play that was a spoof of Aida.  We all go a big kick out of being there.  We then drove up to Shelley's folks in New Brunswick NJ where we parked in the street. Its always fun spending time with family, as we socialized with Shelley's folks as well as her sister and family. [Cream Ridge, NJ - Steve and Cathy Fleischacker - 40.08 N / 74.32 W] and [Edison NJ - Ina and Alan Stull - 41.70 N / 74.26 W ]

Then, on Wednesday morning we drove to CT.  We parked the motorhome at the Cummins facility where the engine and generator were both due for an oil change.  We put our stuff in the car and drove to West Hartford, where our friends Wally and Ingrid live.  We'll be staying at their home for the next 2 1/2 weeks, so we'll pick up this story on May 22 when we plan to leave for our trip to the Canadian maritime provinces. [Rocky Hill, CT - Cummins Engine - 41.39 N / 72.41 W ]

On May 22, as scheduled, we packed the motorhome in the parking lot of Cummins Engine ready to begin our trip to Nova Scotia.  But we had a little excitement before we could leave, as the motorhome wouldn't start.  After a jump start from the Cummins staff, we were on our way.  We took a short drive up to Belmont, NH where we parked the motorhome on the front lawn of our friends, Joany and Earl Bell.  With full electric, water and sewer hookups, we were quite comfortable.  We spent the next day and a half there, enjoying their wonderful hospitality.  They have a small home on a cove of a large lake, and the home is just packed with funky items that were really interesting.  These included old skis and skates, old tins of tobacco, and books of S&H green stamps as well as models of various Rvs.  It was really fun just wandering around and checking out the stuff.  We drove around the beautiful lake country and really enjoyed the sights there.  [Belmont NH - Earl & Joanny Bell - 43.30 N / 71.30 W ]